1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



499 



than i)aramount to all else man's knowledg-e af- 

 fords," etc. 



From one of the Oxydonor tracts I conclude that 

 the Electropoise Is the same thiiiM, but has passed 

 into other hands, and Oxydonor Victory now tights 

 its former self, " now in the liands and control of 

 the Pliilistines who propose to make war upon hu- 

 manity with that name." [mean that the entire 

 matter of all the circulars of botli indicates identity, 

 hut with a transfer and flglit later. One of tlie pub- 

 lications particularly indicates the change. 



The announcements of Electropoise and Oxydo- 

 nor Victory are not founded upon any known princi 

 f)le of science or health. Tliey lay claim to " natural 

 aws heretofore unknown." and promise to cure al- 

 most every disease ot atflicted liumaniiy. The cir- 

 culars and phamphlets bear the stamp of unmiti- 

 gated charlatanry, as devices to get money from 

 needy sufferers, without rendering- the slightest 

 good in return. They do liarm, because, though in 

 some instances there is seeming' relief, yet the inev- 

 itable effect in general must be to burden the afflict- 

 ed by expense without proflt, by raising hopes which 

 can end only in disappointment, and by turning at- 

 tention from actual methods of cure. Many lionest 

 testimonials can be obtained for any device whatso- 

 ever, because, from a given number of sufferers 

 there are always some ab(jutto recover, and some 

 who need .simply to have their minds turned into a 

 new channel of hope. Such was the ca.se with so- 

 called '■ Christi.an science," which was neithei Chris- 

 tian nor scientific, and is the case with every patent 

 nostrum palmed oft upon the public. But as for 

 any actual curative agency in Electropoise or Oxy- 

 donor, I shoul t as conHdeutly expect it in a tin 

 whistle or a lucifer match. C. N. Pond. 



Oberlin, O., May 29. 



We copy the following from the Rural New- 

 Yorker: 



HEALTH CURRENTS. 



Four weeks ago, on page 316, we gave our opinion 

 of the "electropoise" which is being advertised as a 

 great " cure-all." By turning back to that page you 

 will see that this device is a cheap little cylinder of 

 nickel, filled With a mixture of sulphur and graph- 

 ite, with a long cord connected with a garter. The 

 estimated cost uf the thing is under 50 cents, and the 

 price is $~r>. The points wetried to make were these: 

 1. The difference between price and cost is altogeth- 

 er too great. 2. We don't believe the sulphur and 

 the graphite will set up anj' " action" that is going 

 to do a sick person any permanent good. Our opin- 

 ion, then, was that a ne.-t-egg or a liorse-chestnut 

 carried in the pocket would prove just as scientific a 

 cure. Early this week we received this note from 

 the Medical Director of the company handling this 

 device: 



A hidy bi'ouirht us in an abstract from the The R. N.-Y. of 

 Ma.y 11. containing an ignorant and annoying attack upon 

 "the fleetropoise." "The elet-tropoise" is not a fraud, no 

 matter how apparently f^iiiiple the contents and construction 

 of the polarizer. When the polarizer is placed in cold water, 

 etc., and the plate is applied lo the warm surface of the bodies 

 of men or animals, a tliermo electrical current is started, and 

 enters the body. This current has a most remarkable effect 

 upon the circulation, nervous system, ami niilrition, thereby 

 effecting unusual and also easy cures In numy diseases which 

 can not be reachtd by the usual methods. 1 will call upon 

 you. 



Agreeably to his promise, this gentleman called, 

 accompanied by the manager of the company — 

 bringing an "electropoise" along with him. They 

 admitted that our statemant as to the make-up and 

 cost of the device is corrects — it is a 50-cent article 

 sold for $3.5. 



Now, this is about the way we talked to these 

 men: "Our present opiiaion is, gentlemen, that this 

 'electropoise' is a first-class ' fad.' You charge for 

 it 50 times what it costs, and you make for it most 

 extravagant claims which the ablest scientiflc men 

 we know declare to be ridiculous nonsense. At 

 the same time, we are alwaj'sopen to conviction. 

 The K. N.-V. is too big a paper to permit any bigotry 

 or false prejudice to sway lis opinion. While yoii 

 cant hiiii our opinion tor $1,000,0' 0. if you will give 

 us prmif that your claims are correct, we will help 

 you place an • electropoise' in the hands of every 

 sick man in tlie country." 



"That's ju-t what « e came to do," said the mana- 

 ger, ".and here is your proof in tiiese hundreds of 

 printed testimonials from those who have used the 

 'poise.' " 



" We don't care any thing about your printed tes- 

 timonials. Admitting that these "people think this 

 'poise' helped them, how do they know that it was 



not some change of diet, or way of living, that did 

 the business "i* Wiiat we call proof is a scientific 

 demonstration that this ' force' you talk about, ac- 

 tually does cure, and an explanation of the way it 

 ctiresand how it affects the system. " 



'■ We can't explain it. We only know that it docs 

 cure. We have a theory about "it, however. Will 

 you let us put one on you to illustrate it ? " 



" Certainly!" 



A piece of ice was taken out of tlie water-tank. 

 The nickel case of the "electropoise" was put on 

 this ice, and the whole wrapped in paper. The gar- 

 ter at the end of the cord was fastened to the writer's 

 wrist toti e satisfaction of the medical director, and 

 we all waited for the appearance of the thermo-elec- 

 tiical current. While it was preparing to start, 

 the manager exi>laincd the philosopliy of this new 

 system of curing. Put in the simplest way possible, 

 this is what we understood him to say: 



When put in cold water, the sulphtjr and graphite 

 in tlie cylinder start up some sort of cnemiral ac- 

 tion, which is communicated by means of the cord 

 and garter into the system of the person connected 

 with the 'poise. Whether this "charge" is ordinary 

 electricity or not, nobody seems to know. After 

 entering the system, it very conveniently goes to 

 the spinal cord, and thence tlirough the nerves all 

 over the body, quickening all the processes of di- 

 gestion and assimilation, and thus (of course) curing 

 disease by mending all the broken-down parts of the 

 body and causing all tl e organs to do perfect work 

 in nourishing and taking oft' wastes. Somehow or 

 other, all the wise men of the ages have skipped 

 this great principle heretofore, and most of the 

 scientists now on earth are so envious and afraid 

 thatthis 'thermo-eh ctrical current" wi'l absolutely 

 ruin the l:)usiness of doctors, drugeists, and under- 

 takers, that they will persist in calling tlie " f lectro- 

 poise" a, humbug, just as they did the electric 

 brushes and other fads which flourished so 15 years 

 ago, and have long since died out ! 



All this time I was waiting for that current to start. 

 To cheer me along, the manager said that the cur- 

 rent could cure catarrh, deafness, old sores of many 

 years' standing, bon3' growtn at the joints, that it 

 would prevent consumption in its early stages, re- 

 lieve dyspepsia or nervous prostration, and that it 

 will make seeds and plants grow faster ! Now, I am 

 deaf, and have had catarrh; mj' fingers have been 

 frozen, I have five bad scars on my hands; there is 

 more or less malaria near where I live; 1 am always 

 afraid that the baby will get hold of some tuber- 

 culous milk and drink it; I am sure to have a head- 

 ache when 1 eat too much dinner; lam threatened 

 with nervous prostration when I see how " Preserva- 

 line" and the "Creamery Shark" are permitted to 

 advertise, and my lima beans simnly won't start this 

 year. Therefore, you can imagine that I was 

 mighty anxious for that "current" to start and put 

 an end to these vat ious troubles. But it didn't! T 

 felt no effect whatever, and at last they took it off- 

 putting me down, I fear, as a very tough subject. 

 To tell the truth, I did expect to feel something like 

 a mild shock of electricity, as I have no doubt some- 

 thing of that sort eoidd be generated in this way. I 

 simply did not feel it. We have now put the " elec- 

 tropoise" in the hands of one who has been an inva- 

 lid for many years. He will give 't a fair trial, and 

 we shall all know the results. Needless to say, we 

 have no faith in it whatever. Possibly we were 

 wrong in saying that it is no better than a dried 

 horse-chestnut, for undoubtedly there may be gene- 

 rated someslight chemical action. That this "cur- 

 rent" will act all through the body, as these people 

 claim, we do not believe, any more than we believe 

 that skunk's oil will cure deafness because the 

 skunk has a very acute sense of hearing. We have 

 tried that remedy too. 



But stop! Hold on now! We don't want you to 

 go away thinking that we are down on all new 

 things and influences that we can't fully explain ! 

 Not at all. We h.ave had quite a little experience 

 with a " thermo-mental current," and we have no 

 objection to having every reader test it. To test it 

 thoroughly, you must send The H. N.-Y. for at least 

 one year into some family that does not now read a 

 flrst-chiss agricultural paper. At this end of the 

 line, we guarantee to mak(! things sulphurous for 

 all the rogues. In place of using graphite, we will 

 make a grcaf-fight for the farmers' rights and try to 

 put cool water on the hot-heads. The result of this 

 combination will be a " thermo-mental current" of 

 improvement which follows the mail riglit into that 

 famil.v, and works all through it, starting all the 

 members up to better ideas of farming and li%-ing. 



